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Erin Burnett Outfront

U.S. Cities Ramp Up Security Amid July 4th Threat; Candidates Struggle For Momentum as Trump Rises in Polls; Inmate Wrote To Daughter: "See You On The Outside"; Riot at New York Prison Before Inmates Escaped; Battle with Alzheimer's Aired 7-8p ET

Aired July 03, 2015 - 19:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[19:00:10] KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Next, America on alert. Law enforcement ramped up across the country. Seven thousand extra officers armed and ready in New York City. All on guard against a possible July 4th terror attack.

Plus, convicted killer Richard Matt's final letter to his daughter. Did officials miss a big clue that could have stopped the escape?

And this is one big fish tale with the video to back it up. A man goes fishing and ends up in the water with a shark. He is joining us live.

And good evening, everyone. I'm Kate Bolduan. You are watching a special edition of CNN NEWSROOM. Federal, state and local law enforcement around the country, many heavily armed and on guard against possible terror attacks this holiday weekend. Security and surveillance ramped up at holiday celebrations and large events. One official warning there has been an increase of terrorist chatter in just the last few days. Some three million people are expected to attend an event in New York City. An additional 7,000 NYPD officers will be on hand backing up thousands of regular patrols. And thousands of surveillance cameras is going to make up the city's eyes in the sky with a special focus on downtown New York.

And in the nation's capital, another high value target for terrorists, some 700,000 visitors are expected along the National Mall alone.

Jim Sciutto is in Washington tonight, kind of watching it all, Jim. What's the biggest concern right now?

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURTY CORRESPONDENT: Kate, the biggest, a lone-wolf terrorists because by definition, they operate alone. It's much harder to track them even with no contact, maybe with home base with the terror group in the Middle East for instance. And the trouble then is without any specific threat that authorities around the country have to protect everywhere, as many places as they can, particularly prominent targets without knowing where the terrorists might target. It's a real challenge. And it's one of so many law enforcement communities are facing across the country this weekend.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) SCIUTTO (voice-over): In New York City today, ramped up security ahead of Fourth of July fireworks. A New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announcing new plans to enhance monitoring of celebrations across New York State. This is the new normal across the country. Increased security at July Fourth events from Los Angeles to Washington to Philadelphia. As communities big and small respond to an FBI bulletin warning of potential lone-wolf attacks, timed to the holiday weekend.

SETH JONES, RAND INTERNATIONAL SECURITY AND DEFENSE POLICY CENTER: We know, A, that there are a lot of travelers, B, transportation has been and is a target of some of these groups and, C, that we're seeing an increasing number of attacks, especially large crowd gatherings.

SCIUTTO: The state of alert extends to Americans overseas. The State Department ordering all diplomatic posts worldwide to review security. Behind the threat, a call to arms from ISIS to supporters around the globe to attack wherever and however they can. This during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan through the middle of July. The terror group's list of American recruits and sympathizers growing by the week with nearly 50 charged since the start of the year.

JONES: All they are trying to do now is to inspire one or two or a small number of individuals to conduct attacks. And their propaganda begs people do this in the west, in the U.S., in Europe, in North Africa. And people are now listening.

SCIUTTO: The U.S. is not alone in facing the threat of ISIS-inspired attacks. The UK carried out an yearly realistic counterterrorism drill with more than 1,000 emergency personnel earlier this week. This is the bodies of 30 British citizens gunned down by an ISIS supporter in Tunisia last week arrived home by military escort.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCIUTTO: There's another challenge. You hear a lot about how groups like ISIS take advantage of social media. And they do, both to radicalize, perhaps, even to activate plots overseas. The travel is, more and more of that communication is taking place through encryption, Kate. And that makes it impossible, very difficult for counterterror authorities to catch those plots, to catch those things as they're happening. It's a real challenge for them going forward. And it's one of the many challenges they are facing this weekend.

BOLDUAN: And it really lays to bear the challenge they face. Law enforcement, they need to be right 100 percent of the time.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

BOLDUAN: Terrorists, they only need to be right on once. So, they get through once. Jim Sciutto on it for us tonight. Great to see you, Jim. Thank you.

Now, one major focus for law enforcement tonight is protecting soft targets, the areas where crowds gather, malls, monuments or these holiday celebrations where the public is especially vulnerable to attacks. Now, Rene Marsh is on the National Mall. One of those soft targets

for us. So, Rene, what plans do law enforcement have in place there to keep everyone safe tonight?

[19:05:10] RENE MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kate, we have been out here all day. And I can tell you what I'm seeing here for myself. The perimeter here around the capital extends three blocks. We're seeing miles and miles of fencing as well as concrete as well as metal barriers. They have been erected in this area around the National Mall. We know Capitol Hill police, they say they have strategically placed all of their officers throughout the grounds here on the capitol. And we have also seen K-9 units making their rounds around here today. So, that is the feeling. That's the atmosphere here on the day before the Fourth of July. But you mentioned those soft targets, the bridges, the tunnels, the train stations. Those areas are really difficult to police or even to protect in the sense that you often times have thousands and thousands of people at any given moment going over or through these soft targets. So, despite the challenge, we are seeing more of a law enforcement presence, more bomb sniffing dogs at all of these locations as they prepare for those crowds, for the Fourth of July case.

BOLDUAN: And you can hear right behind you what sounds like rehearsals for the big, for the July celebration behind you going on in the capitol's west front. Rene, thank you very much.

Joining me now to discuss the threat -- the broader threat and as well the threat this weekend, CNN terrorism analyst Paul Cruikshank and former CIA operative Bob Baer. Great to see both of you.

So, Bob, let's focus in on New York. Let's take New York as an example. It's always a terror target. But at least three million people are expected to attend the fireworks show this weekend. Even with all hands on deck, can they be 100 secure and still put on an event like this?

ROBERT BAER, FORMER CIA OPERATIVE: No, absolutely not, Kate. I mean, you can't -- three million people you can't protect. We don't run a police state. It's too many people. The weapons of mass murder are too easy to make. That doesn't even, you know, bring up the question of automatic weapons like we used in Tunisia. No, they can't protect them and they know it. What they are simply doing now at this point is running through all the leads and who potentially could turn to violence at this point. But again, as we have been talking about, it's the lone wolf who hasn't come up on social media, has access to weapons and can pretty well hit where he likes and when he likes.

BOLDUAN: Yes. That's the unfortunate truth it seems. And Paul, just to that point, with all of the security precautions that have been announced, can anything really -- to Bob's point, prevent a lone wolf who wants to carry out an attack?

PAUL CRUICKSHANK, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: Well, Kate, once they are moving towards launching an attack, very, very difficult to prevent. Because there are almost an unlimited number of soft targets in the United States. So, you can't protect everywhere at once. And ISIS are calling on their supporters to attack anyone, anywhere at any time. And so these attacks could occur with very, very little warning. So, what the FBI is focusing on is trying to identify people of concern before they are actually able to go move forward and launch an attack. They are scouring social media. They've launched sting operations. Since March, they've arrested 12 Americans who were plotting allegedly to carry out attacks in the homelands. Very, very concerning. The accelerating number of Americans getting involved in these ISIS inspired plots case.

BOLDUAN: And so, Paul, what's the draw then? This is kind of the question that's been in the back of my mind. What is the draw then to attack around the holiday like this when these terror groups, they have to be aware at this point that law enforcement is on high alert?

CRUICKSHANK: Well, Kate, terror groups have had a longstanding ambition to hit United States on national holidays. They realize that that would inflict additional psychological trauma. And documents found in Bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad showed that al Qaeda was interested in attacking the United States on the July 4 weekends itself. And I think we need to look beyond the July 4 weekend to Ramadan. There are another couple of weeks months ago in Ramadan and the spokesman of ISIS issued a Fatwa last month. Saying that followers around the world will be rewarded tenfold in paradise if they launch attacks during Ramadan. So, this ain't going to go away after the July 4 weekend.

BOLDUAN: And that's for sure. It seems like the new normal. Bob, we are hearing so much from officials about what extra measures they are putting in place. Who is the audience that officials are speaking to in kind of laying this stuff out? Is it the public to say we're on it? Or is it the potential terrorists to say, beware?

BAER: It's the police, first of all, the local police, they are the first line of defense. They have to be looking for leads, stopping cars, you know, randomly, looking for people out of place. You know, this kind of threat has to go out to the American people, because it's the American people that are ultimately the target. It just simply doesn't do to keep these things secret. And I think when the FBI releases a threat like this or homeland security, they're very serious about it. I have never seen a higher alert really since 9/11.

[19:10:14] BOLDUAN: I have heard that from more than one person. And it's unsettling every time you hear it. And Paul, kind of what you are speaking about a little bit earlier, officials saying that the current ISIS threat, it's evolved in such a way that having credible intelligence before a terrorist attack, it seems to be growing increasingly difficult because there's so much chatter and there's so many different methods that they reach out. So, then what is the biggest challenge for intelligence officials in identifying threat, how do they get ahead of it?

CRUICKSHANK: Well, that's absolutely right, Kate. There has been an exponential growth in Jihadi social media, a huge amount of volume that the FBI is having to go through. Very, very difficult to tell who is a radical blow hard and who is going to move forward to launch an attack. And as Jim Sciutto was mentioning, another concern is the fact they are using encryption on these online messaging apps to try to instigate attacks, one of those access, a short spot that ISIS fighters in Syria in Iraq have been using to correspond with followers in the west. And they have been using it now in the last few weeks to actually also provide detailed bomb making guidance to potential lone wolves. All this worrying to western law enforcement officials.

BOLDUAN: Yes. It adds up. And it's all very worrying, obviously. We're heading into the holiday. And as Paul and Bob as you guys both pointing out, even extends beyond that as the month of Ramadan continues. Thank you both very much. Have a great fourth.

Coming up for us, Donald Trump is just two weeks -- in just two weeks he has gone from real estate mogul and reality show star to a top GOP presidential contender in the poles. Is it despite or because of his inflammatory language?

Plus, we're learning more about convicted killer Richard Matt's last days. The letter he wrote to his daughter hinting at his escape.

And more close calls with sharks. It's kayak versus shark with this man caught in the middle. He is joining us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:15:43] BOLDUAN: Tonight, the GOP stumped by Trump. The other republican presidential candidates struggling to gain momentum and regain the spotlight. Meanwhile, Donald Trump continues to rise in the polls despite losing support from his business partners because, again, of this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: When Mexico sends its people, they are not sending their best. They are bringing crime. They are rapists.

ERIN BURNETT, CNN ANCHOR: But you don't have any regrets about that word rapists?

TRUMP: Some are good. And some are rapists. And some are killers. And we don't even know what we're getting. No apology because everything I said is 100 percent correct.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Well, now one republican presidential candidate is trying to lead the charge and fight back. And he is someone who Trump once called a friend. Joe Johns has the week that was Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(APPLAUSE)

JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Former New York Governor George Pataki today launched an online petition urging Americans to stand up to Trump after calling on his GOP rivals to denounce the former reality TV star.

GEORGE PATAKI (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: These comments about Mexicans that are so divisive. He is flat out wrong.

JOHNS: On Twitter, Trump firing back at Pataki, calling Pataki a terrible governor of New York who couldn't be elected dog catcher if he ran again. A change of heart from when Pataki was governor and Trump donated to his campaign. But companies doing business with Trump appear to agree with the former New York governor, cutting ties with the real estate mogul over the controversial comments made at his campaign announcement.

TRUMP: They are bringing drugs. They are bringing crime. They are rapists and some I assume are good people.

JOHNS: Macy's saying they will no longer sell Trump clothing. NBC Universal and Univision backing out of carrying the Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants partly owned by Trump.

TRUMP: What NBC and Univision did to these young women was disgraceful. They never had them in mind.

JOHNS: But even the chief executive of Reelz, the network that picked up these pageants dismissed the Donald's remarks.

STAN HUBBARD, REELZ CEO: I agree with everything that NBC and Univision and Macy's are saying. I think those comments are ridiculous.

JOHNS: Former pageant contestants also rejecting Trump's rhetoric.

MARYBEL GONZALEZ, MISS COLORADO, USA (2012): I think it's extremely dangerous to generalize a population and attribute such hateful comments to them.

JOHNS: Trump remains steadfast in his position telling CNN's Don Lemon that his statement was backed up by a 2014 fusion report about Central American Women being raped while traveling to the border.

TRUMP: All you have to do is go to fusion and pick up the stories on rape.

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: That's about women being raped. It's not about criminals coming across the border, entering the country.

TRUMP: Somebody is doing the raping, Don.

JOHNS: Amid the controversy, Trump has surged in the polls, now up to second place nationally and in the early voting states of Iowa and New Hampshire.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

And tonight, Donald Trump is claiming new evidence for his controversial stance on Mexican immigrants in the tragic murder of a young woman in San Francisco who was gunned down while on a walk with her father. The man accused in the case is reported to be an undocumented Mexican immigrant himself. Trump saying tonight, quote, "This senseless and totally preventable act of violence committed by an illegal immigrant is yet another example of why we must secure our border immediately" -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: Donald Trump not backing down even tonight. Joe Johns, thank you so much.

Joining me now to discuss, republican commentators Ben Ferguson and Rick Wilson. Ben, first to you. It seems -- you and I have discussed this. But it just seems that the GOP presidential candidates, the other ones, they haven't wanted to take on Trump at all, but unless they are kind of forced to. At this point, are the campaigns now having to come up with a Trump strategy?

BEN FERGUSON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes. But I think it's going to be one that is very covert. It's not going to be with the candidate coming out and going after Donald Trump directly. I think what you're going to see is the campaigns that are going to do their research. They're going to find a lot of the dirty laundry on Donald Trump and they're going to start giving that out to different people in the media and pushing it out there. Because ultimately, they don't want to be seen as going toe to toe with Donald because they think he is beneath them. He's a side show, he is not a legitimate candidate. And they just want to get this to go away as fast as they possibly can. And so that's how they will going to start to deal with him.

[19:20:05] BOLDUAN: Rick, a sideshow beneath them. But Trump is sure happy to take them on. Just listen to this. This is just a little bit of it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I think Bush is an unhappy person. I think he's highly overrated. I think he's an overrated person. Chris will get good publicity. And that's okay. It's not going to make any difference.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Blaming Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio, Chris Christie. I'm sure, just give him some more -- give him another week and they are all be in that at this point. So, it looks like Trump could end up though -- this is the important part. Despite all of this, it really looks like Trump could end up on that debate stage. If so, how do they take him on without getting drawn into his circus?

RICK WILSON, REPUBLICAN MEDIA CONSULTANT: Well, there are really two people that are going to make that final decision. I mean, that's Reince Priebus and Roger Ailes. And these folks have got to make a decision if they want to turn the republican debates into a clown show. Because that's what's going to happen. You will going to have Donald Trump on that stage. He's going to make -- the things he will do on that stage will make his comments about Mexican immigrants look like child's play. He will turn the crazy meter up to 11 that night. Because he will want to eat up all the scenery. He will want to try to establish himself at the Alpha male in the room and swing it around in order to try to turn it into the Donald Trump show.

BOLDUAN: But can't that rep --

WILSON: Which I think is more and more likely that this is -- go ahead.

BOLDUAN: Can't that rep also help the republicans -- other candidates look good and distinguish themselves?

WILSON: Yes. It can. Because look --

BOLDUAN: Go ahead, Rick. And then Ben you can get in.

WILSON: There are four or five of these candidates in the top tier who are very serious, smart people, who are not, you know, trivial candidates. They are very, you know, well considered, thoughtful people. They have all got policies. You may not agree with all of them. We may not agree with each other. But Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio, Governor Perry, even Rand Paul, these guys all come from different strains of the Republican Party. But they are all serious fundamentally smart people.

FERGUSON: And you don't -- here's the thing. You don't win these debates --

WILSON: Donald Trump is not a guy that you can compare them to.

FERGUSON: Well, here's the thing though. You don't win these debates by talking about how rich you are and how smart you are. And there are people on that stage that will be able to absolutely destroy him on foreign policy and domestic issues. And so I think some of the candidates would relish that moment of really bringing him down. Here is the other thing. Donald Trump is never in a situation that he is not in total control of. Whether it be in his campaign stops, whether it be his TV shows, the reality stuff he does, or his golf courses, it's always his environment you are coming on his turf. You put him on stage with all these other people. He is not in charge and I think that's when you're going to see him as the Donald Trump reality star not the real serious politician. And I think that could be his undoing.

BOLDUAN: All right. So, Ben, then what are you hearing from -- you talked to the campaigns.

FERGUSON: Yes.

BOLDUAN: What are you hearing? What do they think Trump's end game actually is? Because I know you don't believe that he is in it for the long haul.

FERGUSON: Nobody knows where this endgame is. Because ultimately, he is not spending money on ads or campaigns. He can do this for as long as he wants to financially. And as one campaign said to me today, I mean, look at how much money he has probably already lost because of him being in this race. So, is he going to somehow stop this? Is he going to go as long as he wants to? I think Donald Trump doesn't even know what his end game is. So, it's going to be real hard for other campaigns to figure that out if the candidate himself doesn't know. And the other thing is, he isn't hiring political staff. He is hiring the same people that have been around him as a brand, as a reality star. So, from their perspective, I think they look at this as all press is good press. And the more we get our guy on TV and the more people are talking about him, then ultimately that's good for us. I mean, if your game is just to be famous, if success is just getting your name out there, he has been very successful over the last several weeks. And I think he will go as long as he wants to.

BOLDUAN: And no matter what people say about this, it's a circus, or he doesn't take it serious, or you know, it's beneath these other candidates, right now he is still topping in some polls.

FERGUSON: Yes. But that doesn't --

BOLDUAN: National and in Iowa as well as in New Hampshire. That means he is speaking to someone. What is the appeal?

FERGUSON: Well, he is filling a void where all the other candidates are playing it very safe. Because it's very early in this presidential campaign. You don't want to go out there and throw massive punches and try to knock other guys out. There's also a little bit of, you know, decorum here where the other candidates are saying, get your campaigns going. We will see each other on debate stage. Everyone is trying to raise their money. And so, they don't want to engage him in that way. Where's Donald Trump is saying, I'm the big guy in the room. And you can start -- get too big too quickly. And then, it's a long time until the elections. Even the primaries and he has already peaked.

BOLDUAN: That's an interesting point. Now, Rick, I know you lost you for a second but now you are back with us.

WILSON: I lost it again.

BOLDUAN: And I think we may have lost you once again. All right. Rick Wilson, Ben Ferguson, thank you guys, very, very much.

FERGUSON: Thanks.

BOLDUAN: We will see what happens with Donald Trump next week.

[19:25:04] Coming up for us, still to come, new details about Richard Matt's final days, including that brutal killer's last message to his daughter.

And corruption in prisons. Correction officers working in tandem with dangerous prisoners. We have a special report for you. That's ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:29:20] BOLDUAN: Tonight, convicted killer Richard Matt's final message. We're now learning that just before Matt escaped that maximum security prison, he wrote a letter to his daughter. That letter postmarked just before the prison break, that's according to "The Buffalo News." The message, Matt would soon be paying his daughter a visit. We are also learning tonight that just before Richard Matt and David Sweat escaped, there was an incident at the Clinton Correctional Facility that prompted guards to ask for a full lock down, a request that was denied.

Deborah Feyerick is following all of the latest developments into the investigation of how they pulled this off and more. Listen here.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Killer Richard Matt was so confident he would allude immediate capture after breaking out of his maximum security prison, he sent his daughter a letter.

[19:30:06] Law enforcement sources telling "The Buffalo News" Matt wrote, "I always promised I would see you on the outside. I'm a man of my word."

The daughter who lives in a suburb of Buffalo, New York, reportedly received the letter three days after her father's dramatic escape from Clinton correctional facility, about 350 miles across state. There's no indication she knew in advance of her father's plans.

Matt spent 20 days on the run before a border patrol special operations team found him alone behind a tree. He was shot three times in the head after apparently aiming a shotgun at an officer. Matt's body has been taken to the Buffalo area after his family had a change of heart and decided to claim the body. The funeral home says there will be no public or private services.

David Sweat is listed in fair condition. He continues to heal from two gun shot wounds he sustained during his capture. Police put out a photo of the type of backpack he was carrying when he was arrested, just two miles from the Canadian border. They believe the inmates took it from a camping ground in Franklin or Clinton County, and are asking the owner to come forward, possibly to trace the escapees' route.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: And Deborah Feyerick is here joining me live.

So, Deb, what are they saying also about this lockdown, partial lockdown? What went down?

FEYERICK: Well, it's very interesting, because a lot of people, oh, well, if they had done a lockdown, they would have discovered this hole they had made in the cell.

But I spoke to somebody from the Department of Corrections. They say, it didn't warrant that level of response, 30 inmates out of 2,700 were involved. There were no weapons. One person was injured. And it lasted less than a minute. So, they didn't feel that locking the entire facility down would be justified. But also, you have to keep in mind, it's -- it wasn't just about this.

Maybe in hindsight they could have found the hole. But they should have known about this weeks, if not months earlier. And that's the real issue.

And now, security has been tightened. They are doing these random daily cell checks, search for contrabands. But they are also doing security inspections of the cells themselves. And that's supposed to take place every week.

So, it's all about the security. And you better believe it's going to be tighter than it has been in the last couple years.

BOLDUAN: And looking back, it wasn't one missed opportunity to catch it. It was a whole string of them, it seems we're now learning.

Deb, it's great to see you. Thank you.

FEYERICK: Of course, you too.

Let's continue. Let's go through more details.

Joining me now is Jeff Dumas, a former sergeant at the Clinton correctional facility, worked there for 22 years, as well as Harry Houck, CNN law enforcement analyst and retired NYPD detective.

So, Jeff, first to you -- you work at this prison as we said. You -- let's talk about the mail. It's fascinating to me. They don't -- the outgoing mail isn't screened at Clinton. Why?

JEFF DUMAS, FORMER SERGEANT: The outgoing mail, it's private. There have been rulings in the courts from judges -- from federal judges that say we cannot open somebody's mail going out unless there's a problem with it. If there's a missed address, something like that, then we can check it out.

But if everything is legitimate, we can't breach that privacy. However, mail coming into the facility, then we can open it up, check for razor blades, check for weapons, check for drugs. That we can. But outgoing mail, it's not -- we're not allowed to.

BOLDUAN: So, real quick on that though, yes, hindsight is 20/20, but the line we are learning from 'The Buffalo News" when Matt said to his daughter, he wrote, "I have always said I'd see you on the outside. I'm a man of my word." If they had screened it, would this have raised a red flag do you think?

DUMAS: Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. As soon as somebody would have read that that he's going to meet somebody on the outside, a cell frisk would have been performed. We would have been searching every letter, every piece of paper in his cell. We would have been trying to find out more. Absolutely.

BOLDUAN: So, Harry, let's talk about the other element of this that Deb brought up, about that prison riot one week before the escape. Corrections officers asked for a full lockdown. They got clearance for a partial lockdown. They say that it didn't warrant that type of response. But the important thing here is, maybe if they had searched the cells, if they had -- because they got a partial, they didn't do a sweep of the inmates' cells.

Do you think in your view that that's strange?

HARRY HOUCK, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Well, you know, as far as I'm concerned, the bureaucrats never listen to the guys on the ground and the correction officers. So, those correction officers asked for a full lockdown and they didn't get it. Well, you know, it's on the persons fault who stated that there wouldn't be a full lockdown because they would have probably searched all of the cells and then maybe they would have found that hole in both their cells where they finally escaped from.

BOLDUAN: Yes. So, Jeff, I mean, what do you make of this? You worked there. I mean, as we discussed, this isn't just one missed opportunity. There were many here to catch what these guys were doing.

If they had done the full lockdown and then sweep the cells, are you assured they had would have uncovered this escape plan?

[19:35:00] DUMAS: Absolutely. And Harry is on the money.

The correction officers know what's going on in a facility. They know the gang relations that are happening, the atmosphere of the jail.

When a fight like this breaks out and it's requested, it's for a good reason. And typically, at that facility, in my career, we have seen two or three lockdowns sometimes in one-year period. And that is just to go through, sweep the jail, clean house, whatever we can find we can find. It also subdues the inmates in the atmosphere. So, we don't have any more problems between the gangs. It's a cooling off period.

But, again, they don't want to listen. One of the other factors that comes into play that hasn't been out in the media yet is the fact that Ramadan was starting. And the Muslim groups within the facility, that's one of the biggest gangs that we have going. That's statewide.

And if you upset the Muslims, the department is very scared of that. They don't want to upset Ramadan and the Muslims. So, they try to -- they try not to have any lockdown during that.

BOLDUAN: You suspect that could have been part of the motivation here?

DUMANS: Absolutely. They stopped the roadblocks. The roadblocks were taken in so they could have staff in the facility to start Ramadan on time.

BOLDUAN: So, Harry, I want to bring up one more thing before we go. We also learned today that David Sweat was in possession of a backpack. We have a picture of it actually because police put it out. It resembles this one. Police are now putting out a call asking the public to identify who

was the owner of this backpack. Why is that important? David Sweat has clearly been captured at this point.

HOUCK: Yes, but it's very important, because we'll be able to track where he went and where he was at a specific time. If we find out from the owner of this backpack, yesterday, this thing was missing Tuesday from one of my cabins or from my campground or something, we will know he was at that location at that specific time. That's why they're very important.

BOLDUAN: Interesting. That means they are still piecing together where they were when they were on the lam.

HOUCK: Sure, definitely.

BOLDUAN: Jeff, great to see you. Harry, thank you so much.

Coming up for us, Richard Matt and David Sweat, they weren't the only killers to work the system. You wouldn't believe how some other notorious killers have gotten sex, drugs, money and others while behind bars. Our special report is next.

Plus, this is that rare occasion when a fisherman is happy the big one got away. He is my guest tonight.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:41:30] BOLDUAN: Tonight, new details about perks Richard Matt and David Sweat enjoyed behind bars. According to "The Buffalo News", Matt used Joyce Mitchell to communicate with his daughter on the outside. Mitchell texted and called her multiple times with updates on Matt's health. This, of course, is a clear violation of prison rules. But it isn't only time a killer has worked the system for special treatment behind bars, from drugs to sex and much more, many of America's prisons, it turns out, are riddled with corruption.

Ryan Young takes a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RYAN YOUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Richard Matt and David Sweat, their daring escape from a maximum security prison ending in a hail of bullets. Matt shot to death and sweat was shot, wounded and captures. From the start, authorities suspected the two had inside help.

DUMAS: Bringing them something from the outside. That's you where start breaking rules and that's where the system starts to fall down and break apart.

YOUNG: Investigators say for Matt and Sweat, help came from prison tailor Joyce Mitchell. They say Matt and Sweat got close to Mitchell to the point investigators say that Matt had a sexual relationship with Mitchell.

Jeff Dumas was a guard at the Clinton correctional facility for more than 20 years.

DUMAS: They manipulated a female, trying to get her to fall in love with them. They went that route, tried to make the friendship, try to make the connection. See which one of these two, you know, lit a spark with her, to see what they could manipulate her for. See how far they could get her to go.

YOUNG: The idea that inmates and prison workers can get close and make deals for contraband comes as no surprise to those who know how American prisons operate.

Erik Jensen was an inmate at Clinton correction.

ERIK JENSEN, FORMER INMATE, CLINTON CORRECTIONAL FACILITY: The inmates, you could pay officers off, number one. They looked -- they give you a blind eye. It's not even like they care sometimes. They want to get home, make their money. They will sit with their feet kick up, reading a newspaper. You could walk around. You can -- it's like, on the visit floor, you can walk around with your family, go to vending machines in some facilities. Your family can bring it in in their underwear.

YOUNG: Even Richard Speck, one of the most notorious mass murderers in history, found a way to beat the system while he was behind bars. In 1966, Speck brutally raped and stabbed to death eight nursing students in their dormitory. His death sentence thrown out, he spent the remainder of his life in Chicago Stateville Prison.

In the early '90s, this video shows Speck snorting cocaine, engaging in sex and bragging about living the good life behind bars, even showing a stash of cash.

JENSEN: It's like (INAUDIBLE), you are cooking. You are doing everything you want.

YOUNG: Between 2009 and 2012, federal guards at prisons in Texas ran smuggling schemes as a way to supplement their income.

Even at the federal super max prison in Colorado, a guard was convicted in 2011 of a tobacco smuggling operation that netted him some $17,000.

And 14 Baltimore corrections officers were indicted when their connection to members of a notorious prison gang was uncovered. The officers accused of working with inmates to pedal drugs, cell phones and sex inside the city jails, some were caught in bed with inmates.

DUMAS: That's extremely dangerous.

[19:45:01] Any type of sexual act with an inmate is obviously forbidden. At that point, I mean, that's where the system breaks down. Now, you have somebody that is a trusted member of that facility -- a staff member who has now flipped and gone to the other side.

YOUNG (on camera): And many prison insiders wonder if the low pay of staff and correctional workers is one of the reasons why so many times, inmates seem to have influence over them -- Kate.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BOLDUAN: Ryan Young, thank you so much.

Ahead for us, this fisherman caught much more than he gambled for off the Florida coast. Thankfully, he has lived to tell the tale. And he'll tell it to us, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: As millions head off for one of the biggest beach weekends of the summer, new encounters with sharks on America's coasts. Already this year, there have been ten shark attacks along North Carolina and South Carolina beaches.

And now, another close encounter, this time in Florida.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)

BOLDUAN: Gosh.

The man in that video, Ben Chancey, he's joining me via Skype now from Cape Coral, Florida.

Ben, it's wonderful to meet you. That video is amazing, and some would say terrifying. You're in the water, the shark is right -- I think the shark is right under you.

[19:50:04] I'm sure at that moment, you had no idea. In that moment, what's going through your mind?

BEN CHANCEY, CAPTAIN, CHEW ON THIS FISHING CHARTER: Yes, you know, whatever is right beside you, you can see it. But it's kind of dark somewhere, you don't know, we're (INAUDIBLE). You're just hoping it's not going to be biting you if you fall in.

BOLDUAN: I'd say so. So, you very probably smartly scrambled out of that water as fast as you can. Have you ever swum so fast?

CHANCEY: I'm pretty sure not even close, not even remotely close.

BOLDUAN: And then there's this part, Ben, that I don't think most anyone will understand, including this person, you get back in the water once you had made it safety, you went back in. Why?

CHANCEY: Well, like you said, I made it safety, and we flip the kayak back over and that point in time, I felt like the shark had won the battle. I thought I was winning, but when he flipped me over, I felt like I lost the battle. And it was kind of a vindication, hopping back in and finishing it off. It's like if you fall off a horse, you better get back and that's kind of what I thought.

BOLDUAN: Yes, but a horse is a whole lot different than a shark, Ben. I think we can all agree on that. So, as I watched this video over and over today, one thing keeps sticking in my mind, you hold on to your reel, you hold on to your fishing pole the entire time, of course, until you get back, you fall into the water. At any point did you think of possibly dropping the fishing rod, so may be the shark would leave?

CHANCEY: No, that's against our honor code. We're not allowed to do stuff like that. It's a -- yes, we're not allowed to do something like that.

BOLDUAN: I think it's important at this point, since you seemed to be pretty fearless and brave here, to point out an important part here. You are a professional. You run a charter service that specializes in extreme fishing experiences. This is clearly one of them. But still, let's be very honest with everyone at home, this can't be safe.

CHANCEY: No, it can't be safe, especially using the drag that we were using -- we're using a very heavy drag -- because we weren't going after a shark. We're actually going after a goliath grouper. And when you go after a goliath grouper, you have to use heavy drag. Sharks, not so much.

BOLDUAN: So, in the end, what happened?

CHANCEY: We did hook a goliath grouper first. But after hooking the goliath grouper, once he kind of almost flipped me over, I lost the rod and then the shark ate the bait after the goliath grouper spit it out.

BOLDUAN: So, in the end, do you think the shark won or did you?

CHANCEY: I think we both won because everybody seems really like seeing that shark flipped me over and I'm safe and sound. So, I'll give us a victory on both sides out of it.

BOLDUAN: I think the fact that you're safe, I think we can all say tonight that you won on that one. And I know, though, that you've already been back out on the water, that you were doing that today, you are a very brave man. And we will remember that honor code of fishermen, I guess I should not be a fisherman, because I would have dropped that rod in hot second.

(LAUGHTER)

BOLDUAN: Ben, it's nice to meet you. Thank you so much.

CHANCEY: Thanks for having us aboard.

BOLDUAN: Of course.

Oh my goodness.

Coming up next for us, the amazing story of a music legend's courageous battle with Alzheimer's, "Glen Campbell: I'll Be Me."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: This Saturday, CNN Films takes you on Glen Campbell's good- bye tour as country music star battled Alzheimer's.

Every 67 seconds, someone in the United States is diagnosed with the disease. But what exactly happens to the brain as Alzheimer's progresses?

Here's Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: It only weighs 3 pounds, has a texture like firmed jelly and tons of wrinkles. Yet that pint-sized prune of a brain is the most amazing powerful organ in your entire body when it's working right.

But when it's not, as in Alzheimer's disease, the results can be devastating. Take a look here. The brain on left, that's normal. The one on the right has advanced Alzheimer's.

Here's another view. See how the brain shrinks and fluid filled spaces expand. That's Alzheimer's crippling the ability to think and to plan.

And also look here at the hippocampus. It shrivels. The sea horse structure allows us to form new memories but it's also the first to disintegrate.

So, how does this all happen? It starts inside the wrinkled part of the brain here called the cortex, where billions of brain cells interconnecting trillions of ways to create these neuron forests, tiny electric charges move signals like a baby's cry to each neuron, to a junction called the synapse, with chemicals called neurotransmitters leap across the gap, carrying the cry to more and more neurons and the memory is born.

But in Alzheimer's, protein pieces called beta amyloid begin to clump together, while another protein called Tau starts to fall apart, creating plaques and tangles, that blocks signals and nutrients from getting through.

Cells begin to die. New memories cannot take ahold. The ability to think and plan deteriorates. Personality and behavior is affected. And ultimately, the once mighty brain is no more.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BOLDUAN: Thank you, Sanjay.

"Glen Campbell: I'll Be Me" airs this Saturday night at 9:00.

Thank you all so much for joining us. Have a fantastic Fourth of July weekend.

And a marathon of "ANTHONY BOURDAIN: PARTS UNKNOWN" starts right now.